Our Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven....WOW!

[ROGER4314]

I revisited those Shake & Bake Turkey Thighs again, last night. Man, those rascals were good! Tonight, we'll probably have leftover chicken legs made into Burritos.

For the next 5 pound pack of chicken legs, I'll try mixing the Lemon Pepper in with the Shake & Bake and just sprinkle the Tony's on lightly afterwards.

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[karlac]

I revisited those Shake & Bake Turkey Thighs again, last night. Man, those rascals were good! Tonight, we'll probably have leftover chicken legs made into Burritos.

For the next 5 pound pack of chicken legs, I'll try mixing the Lemon Pepper in with the Shake & Bake and just sprinkle the Tony's on lightly afterwards.

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Homemade Cajun seasoning, hard to tell from Tony's:

1 tsp red or cayenne pepper, finely ground
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder

How to use it:

The above will make "one unit" of seasoning. Multiply, keeping the same ratio, for as much as you want to make. It stores well.

Now, when you season something, like a gumbo, simply add the seasoning while cooking until the dish is salty enough for your taste ... That keeps the flavors of the ingredients, or spiciness, balanced with the salt.

With that in mind, and if you want more of the flavor of the other ingredients and less salt, adjust the amount of salt per unit when you make a batch, then use as above.

It should be obvious that the less salt in your ratio, the spicier the dish will be when it is used correctly as "salt to taste".

BTW, I do use it to season meat prior to cooking, rarely afterwards.

 

[ROGER4314]

Got five pounds of chicken legs all ready for spice experimentation!

The big news today is that I've lost pound #10! I weigh the same time every day after the bathroom visit and before breakfast. The major change was the food coming out of the Pucker. The weight record started on the day the Puck Oven came home. The pounds have been slowly coming off and I gotta say, I've been eating a LOT!

Tonight, there was enough Country Style Rib meat for 1 1/2 meals. I ate ALL of it! No foolin' I'm not cutting down on anything. The food is simply better for me!

Unfortunately, all is not rosy as my little dog Jake gained a pound. That may not seem like a lot but for a dog who is supposed to weigh 7-8 pounds....that's a lot!

Since the disastrous homecoming of our new puppy, Mike, Jake got the short end of the stick. Mike beat Hell out of Jake until I figured out what was happening. Mike had to go to a new home. NO ONE hurts Jake! To re-bond with Jake and get him out of his withdrawn mood, we have been eating together. It's good for relationships but bad for weight control.

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[Lucas Mccain]

Is it hard to get your wire rack in? We finally got ours yesterday and the wire rack is hard to get in, it does not easily slide in you have to bend in the middle a bit and then it will go in but then it scratches up the sides a bit. I just want to make sure this is normal and not a defect before first use. I already did the first burn in.

 

[ROGER4314]

The wire rack slid into my Puck very easily but I did put it in the upside down a few times....snicker.

The vertical tabs in the back go UP. Check for any burrs on the rack. It sounds like it has a rough or unfinished piece on the horizontal surface.

This weekend will be a washout so I have several entree's to cook. I have a ball with this oven and it's great to try out new recipes! I'm down to 5 chicken legs so it's time to get cookin'!

I got some "Slap Yo Mamma" seasoning. That's coming up soon!

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[karlac]

Is it hard to get your wire rack in? We finally got ours yesterday and the wire rack is hard to get in, it does not easily slide in you have to bend in the middle a bit and then it will go in but then it scratches up the sides a bit. I just want to make sure this is normal and not a defect before first use. I already did the first burn in.

Not at all.
Should slide in easily, without binding, and with the tabs up and rounded part toward the rear.

 

[ROGER4314]

Bonnie, Jake and I all piled in Bonnie's car and took off for Houston to see a friend. We were gone all afternoon so when we returned, I crapped out in my huge leather chair. Bonnie's a trooper so she Used Shake & Bake "crispy" with some Tony's mixed in to coat some Turkey legs. They were great and we had carrots and dressing with the Turkey.

The only bad thing was that Bonnie forgot to apply the pressure for 1/2 of the 40 minutes. When she said: "Oh I forgot something!" I knew that we were in trouble.

The Pucker was pretty messy and tomorrow, I have a cleanup to do. It was a good experiment because we learned a few things:
1) The pressure oven really does keep spatter to an absolute minimum.
2) The pressure also keeps the moisture IN the meat. This meat was a bit dryer than other Turkey legs cooked under pressure.
3) Pressure does speed up the cooking as we needed to return the legs to the oven for an additional 10 minutes to get the thickest parts to "done" temperature.

The difference in keeping the oven clean was very graphic comparing pressure and no pressure cooking.

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[karlac]

The only bad thing was that Bonnie forgot to apply the pressure for 1/2 of the 40 minutes. When she said: "Oh I forgot something!" I knew that we were in trouble.
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Tell Bonnie not to feel bad. It was that Houston air yesterday...

The shop dummy Pucked some salmon and asparagus last night, and yep ... completely forgot to pull the door lever down.

Didn't notice until no steam escaped when I turned the vent, after cooking.

Wasn't bad, a bit dry and overcooked, but certainly edible. And now I get another shot at doing it right.

 

[ROGER4314]

My Pucker is still a mess. I've felt terrible from that ocean of tree pollen lately but I got a wild hair and went out to mow. My 1/2 acre lot has septic tank field lines and grass grows like an elevator here. Since I mowed last in October, the yard was a mess but I got it done before the big rain comes.

I took a look at the Pucker and it's in pretty sorry condition. Tomorrow it's supposed to be very stormy so I'll clean the Pucker and do some cooking!

Bottom line on the pressure feature of the Pucker...............It saves a TON of cleanup, cooks faster and makes the meat moist and tender. Our experiment proved the value of the pressure feature because we did a load of the Turkey legs with and later, without the pressure "ON". There's a HUGE difference!

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[TheDan]

They need to make a full sized one.

 

[ROGER4314]

Full sized? Not a bad idea! My conventional oven is useless now. The Pucker gets all of the use.

My Pucker was a mess from the unpressurized meeting with the Turkey legs so I figured it was time to figure out how to clean it. I was willing to experiment as I'm so sold on my oven that if I screwed it up, I'd buy another one!

I took all of the racks etc out of the oven so I could see inside better. I was concerned that it may cause some problems laying on it's back but it ran just fine, later.

Nylon scrub brushes and Windex didn't do much for the hard baked on grease so I used that only on the door and the light stuff. I sprayed the heck out of it with the Windex. It caused no harm and did pretty well.

Next, came the scrub pads. I used the kind with Stainless Steel curly pads. They caused some pretty deep scratches on the interior. Used that only on the heaviest deposits.

Then, I tried Wally World "Fume Free" oven cleaner and that did the deed! It loosened up the heavy stuff. My hands are pretty tough and I was able to use the stuff without gloves. I used the nylon scrub pads to help the oven cleaner.

Caution.......There is a plate in the front of the oven and two supports to secure the heater elements. Those rascals are SHARP and can cut you.

Once I got the crud off, I washed the interior with Windex and paper towels, until it was clean. Then ran it at 400 degrees to dry it out.

The exterior looks great with the Wally World Stainless Steel polish/cleaner. It doesn't look brand new but it's close!

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[karlac]

Wipe the interior of mine after every use with a wrung out soapy rag, then rinse the rag with fresh water and give it a final wipe down. So far, so good.

 

[ROGER4314]

Agreed....I ran some Shake & Bake chicken legs tonight and there was nothing needed to clean the oven. That pressure cooking does the deed!

I noted that the chicken while cooking was giving off bubbbles on the surface but no spattering.

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[TheDan]

Full sized? Not a bad idea!

Yeah, you've sold me on the pressure oven idea, but I don't have any counter space for the Pucker, and can't get rid of my fullsized to make room. I still need enough room for a full brisket, a side dish and a couple of pies

 

[ROGER4314]

Full sized brisket and goodies .........sounds great!

Bonnie came over for a couple of days to play with Jake. She and I co-parent the little guy. She is also a WONDERFUL cook!

I had a full chicken in the freezer so we thawed it and it will be the next Puck victim!

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[Younggun]

I take offense to the idea of cooking a brisket in a pressure oven.

 

[karlac]

Puck Cooking Temp/Time Guide

Might come in handy, if it'll post:



ETA: I have a pdf. If anyone wants a more legible copy, PM me.

 

[TheDan]

I take offense to the idea of cooking a brisket in a pressure oven.

Brisket is just a cut of meat. Lots of ways to cook it. ...or cure it.

 

[karlac]

Speaking of brisket. Wife bought a corned beef brisket early last week to cook, or so she, who doesn't cook, says. It was fast approaching expiration date in the fridge, so I decided to give it a try in the Puck instead of seeing it go bad.

Now, I know how to cook an excellent corned beef, and it is not done in an oven. A slow cook crockpot is hard to beat.

Knowing it was likely misuse of a tool, but just as an experiment, went ahead Pucked the 5lb cut, fat side up, for 90 minutes at 350/pressure.

The result, while moist, tasty and not really tough, was definitely chewy. Not something to brag about.

Perhaps lowering the temp to 300, and kicking the time up would help, but I was left thinking this was not the tool for the job.

 

[ROGER4314]

That points out the fun part of the Pucker. There's not much information or recipes available so it is ideal for folks who like to experiment. The oven is very forgiving and as a few of us found out, even if you make some mistakes, the results are still edible.

Yes....the slow cooker is killer for tough cuts of meat. Buy hey, I once tried to grill a 2" thick pot roast. Anything is worth a try!

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